That was two hours ago and he hadn’t said a word since. Even the kitten abandoned him to stalk imaginary enemies under the bed.
She finished her cup of tea and wandered over to stand behind him. Hands smoothing his tense shoulders as she pressed her thumbs into the firm muscles. “Tough job tonight?”
He leaned his head to the side as she found a knot, twisting as if to keep her focused on the spot. “Least favourite part of ranching, to be honest.”
“I hear you.” She leaned down and kissed his neck, the warm earthy scent of his skin filling her head and making her ache. “You need to finish this now? Or can I distract you?”
“Can you distract me? Woman, you distract me by breathing.”
Allison smiled and trailed her fingers through his hair. “You’ve gotten a little wild, cowboy. What do you say I give you a trim?”
She scraped her fingernails against his scalp, and he groaned, leaning his shoulders back and pressing their bodies together as much as possible with the chair between them. “You keep touching me and you can do anything you damn well please.”
She kissed his neck again before escaping to grab the scissors. “Take off your shirt and pants.”
Gabe chuckled. “What kind of trim you aim to give me?”
She was still smiling when she returned to the room. She had to swallow hard to stop from drooling over the sight that greeted her.
He’d followed her orders, all right. Stripped to nothing but his boxers. The chair was farther from the table than before, resting on solid wood floorboards instead of the area carpet.
He had one leg stretched forward as he reclined comfortably. Arms crossed over his broad chest, the dusting of hair bleached from his hours outside. A rancher’s tan line ran across his biceps—the deeper golden brown of sun-kissed skin on his forearms contrasting with the paler area usually covered by his T-shirt sleeves. She’d seen him bared to the waist occasionally, wearing nothing up top but a slick of sweat as he worked in the hot sunshine. More often, though, the men laboured on without bothering to strip. No fashion-show outfits, no trying to produce model-perfect tans.
The result was breathtaking. Rock-solid muscles formed from backbreaking labour.
She took her time admiring the view. His chest, his shoulders. When she finally lifted her gaze to look into his face, a lazy grin curved his mouth and heat shone in his eyes.
“You sure you want to cut my hair? Because the way you’re looking me over, I’m thinking of all kinds of other things we could do instead.”
He adjusted his stance slightly and she spotted another part of him that had grown rock solid and hard.
Allison moved in close, stopping to press her hands on his thighs and lean over him. “Haircut first, maybe other things later.”
His fingers slipped around her neck. “Only maybe?”
The kiss he gave her made her toes curl, but this time she wasn’t going to give in. She planted her free hand squarely on his chest and pressed herself away.
He was staring at her lips.
Oh yeah, she wanted to take this further as well. “Okay, more than maybe. Now behave.”
She walked behind him, first dropping the scissors on the side table where they were easily accessible. Then she gave in to temptation and touched him. Fingers buried in the unruly strands, pulling them into line. His hair was lovely to play with, the light curls at the end sweeping up and under at random. “You’ve got the most gorgeous hair. Makes me jealous.”
“You can have it. Girlie hair—gets to this point and I feel like a sheep.”
“Hmmm, so soft.” She leaned in, addicted to the taste of his neck. Lick. Nibble. All the while she worked with her fingers.
He reached back and caught her, his hand skimming over her head, holding her to him.
“Cut my damn hair, or I’m calling this off and taking you to the bedroom for some ravishing.”
Ravishing would be good. Only…
Allison smiled. Why not? She pulled off her top and slipped her pants down before grabbing the scissors and stepping in front of him.
His mouth stretched in a wide smile.
She held up a hand. “You seem to need distracting. One way or another, I am cutting your hair.”
She straddled his legs, moving in close enough her butt rested in the middle of his thighs.
“Nice.” Gabe stroked his knuckles along the edge of her bra. “Only, if you’re going to be snipping hair, maybe you should take this off. Don’t want to get it messy.”
She used two hands to guide the scissors, carefully making the first cut. A blond curl tumbled to the floor. “Go slowly and you can do anything you’d like.”
What he liked, it seemed, was to drive them both mad. Gabe stayed relatively motionless as she trimmed the front of his hair, careful to toss the snippings to the side. He cupped his big hand around her waist, his thumbs the only things that moved. The gentle brush as he stroked back and forth tickled her skin, sending tiny shock waves like warning signals to the rest of her body to be prepared for the next assault.
When she stood to reach around him, he pulled her closer, making contact between his warm rib cage, her torso. Slowly, as ordered, Gabe slipped his hands to her bra fastener and loosened the clips.
She lifted a section of hair between her fingers, using her knuckles as a guideline for trimming. One shoulder strap fell away. The other. She moved her hand to gather another portion. Gabe carefully caught her wrist, tugging her arm lower until the elastic of the bra slipped free.
“You’re very good at working cautiously,” she admired.
“It’s like harnessing a skittish colt.”
Allison laughed. “So now I’m one of your horses, am I?”
“Hmm, I’ll cover you any time.”
Oh dear. The images his words brought to mind. She let him slip off the other side of her bra before even attempting to return to her task.
She pressed to tiptoe to reach around his neck. Gabe took total advantage and caught hold of her breast, lifting the mound the final bit until he could suck her nipple into his mouth.
She had to concentrate hard to keep control while he played with her breasts.
By the time she’d managed to complete the back, or at least as best she could from that angle, she was tingling and needy. Wet between her thighs, her core aching for a touch. She sat slowly, sliding along his body. Making contact with the solid length of his erection. Both of them groaning out in pleasure and frustration.
“You done?” Gabe growled.
She put the scissors aside and lifted her hands to his hair, fluffing the strands. The cut wasn’t perfect, but it was better. “I guess.”
The words were still escaping and she was already in the air. She flung her arms around him, clutching his shoulders as he carried her to the bedroom and beyond.
He lowered her to the floor in the shower stall, reached behind her and flipped on the taps. The cold water hit her back the same second his lips covered hers, and her gasp of surprise was lost.
It seemed his hands were everywhere at once. Skimming over her breasts, between her legs. Briefly touching as he stripped away their underwear. She returned the favour, and stroked and played as well, letting her palms roam over the solid lines of his form. He twisted them until water cascaded over their heads, pouring over their faces as they gasped for air.
As suddenly as he’d begun, he jerked the taps off and lifted her again, his cock caught between them as he stared her in the eyes. “That takes care of the hair. Now you’re damn well going to get everything you asked for.”
The pounding in her blood screamed bring it on.
He dropped her to the mattress, water droplets still clinging to their skin. He wasn’t gentle, flipping her over onto her belly and dragging her to the edge of the bed. The crinkle of a condom wrapper being ripped open was followed by his hands touching her intimately, a finger slipping into her core.